abrdn plc Has $9.37 Million Stock Holdings in Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO)

abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) by 94.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,303 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned about 0.05% of Atmos Energy worth $9,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,049,467,000 after buying an additional 538,578 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,990,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $952,356,000 after buying an additional 452,247 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 47.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,191,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,253,000 after buying an additional 382,167 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 168.1% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 511,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,196,000 after buying an additional 320,817 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $28,228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $116.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.98.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 51.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on ATO. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.